Sealed ignitron



April 1948: A. P. COLAIACO 3 SEALED IGNITRON Filed March 8, 1947 WITNESSES:

INVENTQR fiuyus/ P Co/alaco.

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 20, 1948 iimreo STATZELS QFHQE ,1 'SE QLLE ZTRQ -'.Augu st, Re fiplaiaco lfittsbungh 'Ba., a ssigpor ,to

tion, Easthi ttseo at Application March 8, 1947 -Se 1 ia;l-' No 138,395

'1 hQ n m 1 My invention relates to 'a-vapor-electricdevice and particularly to meansfor maintainingsealed off vapor-electric devices in operatingcondition for an extended period of time.

In the operation of vapor electric devioes it is a frequently desirable to senor the devices and operate them without the benefit iof--pumping equipment. 'Heretofore, this has resulted. .in. a shortened period of operating life .because .-=d'uring operation certain quantities. of gas-will leak through the container walls of .even-.the .best constructed containers. Also, in spite .of; .:heavy treating out, certain quantitiesotgas .willzbe liberated during operation. of .the devices, ticularly during faulty operation, such as. are back, .when not only severe thermal but electrical conditions operate to release occluded gases.

. 'The contamination of: the devices by liberation or leakage becomes progressively-worse :so .that after a more or'less lengthy lifeperiod itheoperationof the device becomes erratic and eventually completely unsatisfactory. 1

According to my invention,- 1 providemeans for-trapping and storing theoccluded gases which are'liberated or which -leak-intone-otherwise contaminate the interior of the. device so that the useful life of a device is greatly extended. For this purpose, I provide a-small sealedcompartment within the container of the device and a relatively small pumping device for forcing the contaminating gases into the compartment where they are maintained by suitable trap valves.

Preferably, the pump is provided in the form of a miniature vapor jet pump operated by vaporized cathode material, usually mercury, the vaporizing element being controlled from the exterior of the device and may conveniently be applied to a portion of the exterior to supply heat to a quantity of cathode material within a pump boiler wholly or partially within the vaporelectric device.

It is an object of my invention to provide pumping means for segregating contaminating ases in a sealed ofi container.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a vapor-electric pump operable at will to remove contaminating gases into a restricted portion of a container. 7 Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed 'description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which the figure is a fragmentary elevation partially in section of a vaporelectric device embodying my invention.

In the exemplary embodiment of my invention,

a-yaporeelectric device'i-n theiormof a vapor arc converter. valve.:has. an. exterior container I or chamberin which is;.c,on tained a ool-ty e cathodeizirest a n:thehotto 30f the nta n r I and icoeperatipgetherewith .is -.an anode 4 g supported fin insulated .rrelationto the rest of the device by a suitable insulating means '5. Qontrol ordeiomzingcmeans 16.. such as ano e and cathodecshi lds :iwithgor without, .ext marconnection maybe provided. rfiuitaihle exciting means. such as :aimakeaalive electrode w1,.is.pr vid ..f l'ifiiti W- ingthe.conductinginteryals.

.orderrto .provide a. sealed chamber in which to;tr.ap contaminatedi ases, I have, provided adiacent the avallof the container =l and preierably configured ito,.:conf.orm :thereto a substantially closed-.bomlike achamben til .=pr.-ef r8b1y subst tiallylrectangillarin -crosssection. Adjacent this chamber .10 and .;preferably ycontiguous to the cathodesurIacavI provide. a ,pump barrel l I pref- .erab1y.in the. formooi :a substantiall strai ht tubular. memberhavinhoneside thereofin intimateztthermal. contact with a, cooled external surifacedof the..;contai ner 1 preferably that portion of the-container.:whichis cooled, by an external 'coolingmeans suchlas awater. jacket 8, andrnoranally.iused.forscondensingzsthe vvapo s en ra during coperation. of .thendevice. .Adjacent this pumprbarrel, H .is .aboiler. 12. ,for generating pumping fluid. This boiler I2 is provided with suitable heat generating means, such as an electrical heat generating unit l4 secured to the exterior thereof and supplied with electric current from a source not shown. Within the pump barrel is a vapor chimney I5 fed from the boiler l2 and having a difiusing nozzle l6 for entrapping and carrying away any vapors or gases within the container I.

While any number of stages may be used, I prefer to use a plurality of pumping stages, the first one of which is a difiusion nozzle [6 and the other of which may be an entraining jet I1. An exhaust port I 8 is provided in the pump barrel H and a tubular connection l9 extends from the exhaust port l8 into the restricted container It.

In order to prevent reverse flow of gases from the restricted chamber I0 back through the pumping means, a one-way valve or trap is provided in the form of a depressed portion 20 within the chamber Ill into which Will be carried or may be initially placed a quantity of cathode material having a relatively large surface area with respect to the cross sectional area of the tubular connection I!) between the pump and the container It). At least the terminal portion of the tubular connection l9 will dip below the surface of the cathode material contained within the depression 20 and will extend upwardly for such a, height as may be necessary to prevent, by the weight of the trapped materials, the return flow of gases through the connection IS. The surface area of the depression 20 is relatively large in proportion to the cross sectional area of the tubular connection l9 so that a relatively small displacement of the surface on this area will produce suflicient material to provide a sealing height in a tubular passage 19. Preferably also an overflow 2| is provided so that any excess cathode material may return to the cathodeproper. This overflow connection 2i is preferably made in the form of a tubular passage, the top of which extends to the desired maximum level of the material within the trap and extends sufficiently deep into the cathode material 2 that the pressure of the trapped gases will not displace the cathode material to thereby escape'into the container. Also, this overflow tube M is preferably of sufficiently large cross sectionthat drops of cathode material, such'as mercury, on returning to the cathode will not entrap portions of the sequestered gas and thereby unwillingly contaminate the container.

The pump barrel ll being in contact with a portion of the container wall serves as a condensing medium for the pump material, but because of the relatively inefl'icient cooling a quantity of cathode material will normally flow through the connection [9 into the trapped container it where it will condense and return through the overflow 2| to the cathode 2.

During non-operating conditions of the pump, the level of the cathode material in the boiler VH and in the cathode dish 3wi1l assume substantially identical levels. However, when heat is aplied to the boiler l2, vapor will be generated which creates a pressure within the boiler and displaces the cathode material'and care must be taken that the boiler I2 is sufficiently deep that the operating pressure does not'expel all of. the cathode material and thus'render the boiler inoperativef Preferably, the boiler I2 is completely sealed with respect to the pump barrel ll'sothat all vapors must pass through the pump chimney l5 and a return connection 22 is provided from the pump barrel II to a point adjacent the bot tom of the boiler 12 so that condensed pumping material may return to the boiler 12. Also, it is desirable to provide a tubular connection 23 from a point below the normal cathode surface to a point adjacent the bottom of the boiler I! so that cathode material may freely flow either in or out of the boiler 12 as the variations in pressure may require.

It will be noted that the cross sectional area and the capacity of the pump boiler I2 is relatively small with respect to the total cross sectionalarea and capacity of the cathode dish 3 so that the displacement of cathode material from-the pump boiler 12 during operation of the pump does not materially afiect the cathode level or produce undesirable flooding of any portion of the device.

While for purposes of illustration I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the true spirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: 7 V

1. In a vapor-electric device having a substantially sealed container, a diffusion pump in said container, means exterior of said container for activating said pump, a normally sealed compartment in said container, an exhaust connection from said pump to said compartment and a reverse flow seal in said connection.

2. In asealed ofi vapor-electric device, means for maintaining the working pressure comprising a, vapor pump in said container, 9. pump boiler, means exterior to said container for applying heat to said boiler, a sealed compartment, an exhaust passage from said pump to said compartmerit, and a liquid seal for said passage.

3. In a sealed vapor-electric device having a cooled condensing surface, a pump barrelin good thermal conducting relation to said cooled condensing surface, a vapor jet in said barrel, means external to said container for controlling vapor flow to said jet, a closed compartment in said device,.a vapor passage between the pump barrel and the compartment and a unidirectional valve means in said passage.

- AUGUST P. COLAIACO. 

